Dialing Up Deliverables: A Comprehensive Guide to Gainful Vlogging

In a world where video content is everything, starting your vlog is a great way to make money online. But with no experience or training, it’s hard to know how to start a vlog and make money.

Don’t worry—we’ve got you covered!

This course shows you how to launch a profitable YouTube channel and monetize your new channel. You’ll learn everything you need to know, from finding your niche and the best ways to promote your vlog. Once your vlog starts getting views, you’ll see how to turn your viewers into subscribers, make money, and become a YouTube sensation.

Background of vlogs on YouTube

What started off as a way for vloggers to share their thoughts about topics they were passionate about eventually turned into a full-blown industry. According to Pew Research, there are more than two million vloggers, and the audience for vlogs has grown from around 200 million viewers in 2012 to over 700 million in 2017. Vloggers like Logan Paul, HJ Evelyn, Ur Mom Ashley, and Roman Atwood are some names helping to shape the industry.

Why vlogs are loved by people

Vlogs are short, informal videos posted online on platforms like YouTube. Think of them as the modern equivalent of early television (TV) shows. They allow creators to connect directly with their audiences, share their opinions, and be creative in a way that wasn’t possible before. They can be fun, entertaining, informational, and even educational.

But most importantly, they’re easy to make and easy to watch. The most popular ones out there are HJ Evelyn and UR Mom Ashley. Their videos are pure chaos and fun to watch.

1. YouTube Ads
2. Brand Sponsorship
3. Affiliate Marketing
4. Patreon
5. Sell your service or products

• Top 10 Highest-Paid Vloggers on YouTube
• Hot FAQs on How To Start a Vlog and Make Money

Part 1: Why Can’t I Make Money Through My Vlog?

So you’ve started filming videos on YouTube vlogs, but why aren’t you making any money from them? Is it something you can change? Let’s look at some common reasons why vloggers aren’t making any income and figure out how to get around them.

Who is my target audience?

So, let’s be honest; most vloggers focus on the wrong audience. Most vloggers think they’re not making money because they haven’t figured out the right audience for their videos. But the reason why most vloggers aren’t making money is that the majority of their audience is just not interested in them. It seems strange to say it, but when it comes down to it, most vloggers they’re trying to appeal to the wrong type of people.

What problems am I solving?

It seems that more and more vloggers are doing videos today. However, so many vloggers aren’t making money because they are trying to solve problems that no one wants to hear about! Make videos on the problem many people want to know about; they will want to see what you are saying—resulting in more views and money.

What solutions am I offering? Are these solutions both financially viable for you and in line with the needs of your target audience?

The internet provides many tools and resources to help vloggers find a job or business. Youtubers provide quality content, but some fall short of providing solutions. As a vlogger, it is your job to help potential clients identify what solution you are offering. You must be able to prove your expertise. You need to see if you’re addressing the target audience’s needs.

Part 2:How To Start a Profitable Vlog YouTube Channel

It’s easy to get started on YouTube. Go to the website, set up a free account, and upload videos. But when it comes to growing a profitable vlog YouTube channel, there are some tricks to getting the best results. Here are the three things you must do to achieve the success that will bring you money.

Find your niche. (what is a niche, and how to find)

A niche is a more specific topic than your normal interests and therefore requires more thought and research. Finding a niche means narrowing down what you’re passionate about and what you’re good at and carving out a community of viewers who want what you’re offering. Once you figure out your niche, the next step is to create content that suits your niche and what you want to share.

Consistency and patience

Another thing that makes vlogging a successful business is consistency. Vloggers who put out new content every week or even every day may get a lot of views. A consistent schedule means you can produce new videos that will retain people’s interest and keep them returning for more. Also, YouTube algorithms favor timely, fresh, and well-made videos. You must be patient and wait to get the attention of YouTube’s algorithm.

Content quality

With the success of big YouTube stars like Markiplier and Casey Neistat, it’s clear that the market is for quality vlog content which is quite lucrative. YouTube’s algorithm favors videos with large numbers of views, so if you’re looking to start a profitable vlog YouTube channel, you’ll need to add quality, creativity, and useful content for viewers.

And to do that, you must try Wondershare Filmora video editing software. Let’s have an overview of WonderShare Filmora 11 and how we can create quality content using it.

Wondershare Filmora

This game-changing editor helps you create amazing videos by offering effects and features designed explicitly for Youtube videos.

Most importantly, it’s beginner-friendly, which makes it a must on the list.

Key features

• Ready-made Templates - Can be used as Preset
• Instant Mode - No editing skills needed
• Motion Tracking - Add moving stickers and effects on your clips
• AI and FX effects- Makes editing features smooth and increase the performance
• Auto Synchronization - Automatically matches the separate audio and video files
• Color Correction - Change colors according to you need.

Pros

• Seamless interface for beginners
• Great customer support
• Plenty of effects and preset templates
• 4K video output options

Cons

• Rendering requires too much time
• The mobile app requires separate subscription

Availability:

Download now on Windows , Mac , iOS , iPad , Android

Ratings:

4.4 Stars out 5

Price:

Starting from $19.99

Let’s assume you have created the Vlog content. Now, we want you to understand the methods of how you can earn income with vlogging.

Part 3: Common Methods of Vlogging Income

We’ve seen so much misinformation about how to make money via vlogging. This makes it hard to figure out what works and what doesn’t. There are so many ways to make money vlogging, and it takes a lot of trial and error to find what works for you. Let’s break down the main ways to make money vlogging into different categories.

YouTube Ads

Ad revenue comes from advertisers who pay to show their brand message across the top of the video. Advertisers choose which ads are displayed, so don’t let a video with few views make you think you can’t make money with your videos. The key is to monetize your content and become eligible for Youtube ads.

According to Google, a publisher (Youtuber) will get 68% of ad revenue. An advertiser’s actual rate varies, but it averages almost $0.18. That means that for every 1000 ad views, a vlogger will receive $18.

Brand Sponsorship

While the vlogger market is still young, brands are starting to recognize its enormous potential for brand recognition, building a community, and engaging with current and potential customers.

Vloggers also use their videos to demonstrate how a product should be used and answer questions about the brand, its products, and services. As well as they will often provide some insight into a product or service through creative storytelling.

Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is another form of monetization for online video bloggers. In affiliate marketing, bloggers earn commissions by referring traffic to affiliate products through affiliate links. The goal of affiliate marketing is to drive sales and build a sustainable source of revenue, whether it’s through Amazon, Google, or other platforms.

Patreon

Patreon is another option, and if done correctly, it can turn a niche blog into a revenue source, which is great for bloggers and vloggers alike. By creating a Patreon account, you are allowing people to donate money to help support your content creation. In return, you offer rewards to supporters of your channel. Rewards could include extra content, merchandise, access to private forums, or even free ebooks.

Sell your service or products

With over 1 billion monthly active users, there’s an opportunity for content creators to make money by selling their products or services. You could sell your physical products to your audience as a vlogger. The best method this can be done is by creating an online store that sells T-shirts and mugs with your branding. Make sure those products must be related to your niche or channel category. As for services, you could also offer tips on improving your life, starting an online business, or even becoming a successful Youtuber!

Part 4: Top 10 Highest-Paid Vloggers on YouTube

Vloggers on YouTube are earning some big money. From the top-earning vloggers to the most-watched channels on YouTube, we’re breaking down the ones raking in the dough.

Here are the top 10 highest paid vloggers on YouTube, according to Forbes:

Name / Channel	Net Worth ($)
1. MrBeast	60 million
2.Jake Paul	30 million
3. Markiplier	35 million
4. Rhett and Link	20 million
5. Unspeakable	30 million
6. Nastya	20 million
7. Ryan Kaji	100 million
8. Dude Perfect	50 million
9. Logan Paul	245 million
10. Preston Arsement	20 million

Hot FAQs on How To Start a Vlog and Make Money

1. Is daily vlogging worth it?

Yes, daily vlogs are the perfect way to establish yourself as an online expert if you think of it as a business. With the right strategy, there is no doubt that starting daily vlogs will be worthwhile for your business.

However, many vloggers have found that it isn’t easy to stick to the routine. You may start losing quality, and as a result, your daily vlogs performance degrades. This can be a frustrating experience for you, so you must consider this before embarking on a daily vlogging project.

2. What is the best topic for vlogging?

There isn’t a specific topic for vlogging. The best topics to cover on any vlog can be the vlogger’s most interesting thing of his life, what he loves doing, what makes him feel like making a difference in the community, or what he wants people to remember about the vlog. It all comes down to a person’s personality, interests, and preferences.

3. What equipment do I need to start vlogging?

With a tripod, the most basic gear to start vlogging is a camera, microphone, and computer. Vloggers typically use cameras that range from DSLRs (digital single lens reflex) to iPhones.

In addition to the gear needed to get started, there is one more item you’ll need to consider to produce quality vlogs. A video editing software that helps you convert your raw footage into eye-catching content, like Wondershare Filmora.

The Bottom Line

So, in summary, if you want to become a vlogger, you will need to figure out how to find your target audience, connect with them, and keep them interested in you. And you can do all of this through social media, advertising, and email marketing. It might be tough at first, but once you get started, you’ll be able to start generating revenue pretty quickly.

Free Download For Win 7 or later(64-bit)

Free Download For macOS 10.14 or later

Part 1: Why Can’t I Make Money Through My Vlog?

So you’ve started filming videos on YouTube vlogs, but why aren’t you making any money from them? Is it something you can change? Let’s look at some common reasons why vloggers aren’t making any income and figure out how to get around them.

Who is my target audience?

So, let’s be honest; most vloggers focus on the wrong audience. Most vloggers think they’re not making money because they haven’t figured out the right audience for their videos. But the reason why most vloggers aren’t making money is that the majority of their audience is just not interested in them. It seems strange to say it, but when it comes down to it, most vloggers they’re trying to appeal to the wrong type of people.

What problems am I solving?

It seems that more and more vloggers are doing videos today. However, so many vloggers aren’t making money because they are trying to solve problems that no one wants to hear about! Make videos on the problem many people want to know about; they will want to see what you are saying—resulting in more views and money.

What solutions am I offering? Are these solutions both financially viable for you and in line with the needs of your target audience?

The internet provides many tools and resources to help vloggers find a job or business. Youtubers provide quality content, but some fall short of providing solutions. As a vlogger, it is your job to help potential clients identify what solution you are offering. You must be able to prove your expertise. You need to see if you’re addressing the target audience’s needs.

Part 2:How To Start a Profitable Vlog YouTube Channel

It’s easy to get started on YouTube. Go to the website, set up a free account, and upload videos. But when it comes to growing a profitable vlog YouTube channel, there are some tricks to getting the best results. Here are the three things you must do to achieve the success that will bring you money.

Find your niche. (what is a niche, and how to find)

A niche is a more specific topic than your normal interests and therefore requires more thought and research. Finding a niche means narrowing down what you’re passionate about and what you’re good at and carving out a community of viewers who want what you’re offering. Once you figure out your niche, the next step is to create content that suits your niche and what you want to share.

Consistency and patience

Another thing that makes vlogging a successful business is consistency. Vloggers who put out new content every week or even every day may get a lot of views. A consistent schedule means you can produce new videos that will retain people’s interest and keep them returning for more. Also, YouTube algorithms favor timely, fresh, and well-made videos. You must be patient and wait to get the attention of YouTube’s algorithm.

Content quality

With the success of big YouTube stars like Markiplier and Casey Neistat, it’s clear that the market is for quality vlog content which is quite lucrative. YouTube’s algorithm favors videos with large numbers of views, so if you’re looking to start a profitable vlog YouTube channel, you’ll need to add quality, creativity, and useful content for viewers.

And to do that, you must try Wondershare Filmora video editing software. Let’s have an overview of WonderShare Filmora 11 and how we can create quality content using it.

Wondershare Filmora

This game-changing editor helps you create amazing videos by offering effects and features designed explicitly for Youtube videos.

Most importantly, it’s beginner-friendly, which makes it a must on the list.

Key features

• Ready-made Templates - Can be used as Preset
• Instant Mode - No editing skills needed
• Motion Tracking - Add moving stickers and effects on your clips
• AI and FX effects- Makes editing features smooth and increase the performance
• Auto Synchronization - Automatically matches the separate audio and video files
• Color Correction - Change colors according to you need.

Pros

• Seamless interface for beginners
• Great customer support
• Plenty of effects and preset templates
• 4K video output options

Cons

• Rendering requires too much time
• The mobile app requires separate subscription

Availability:

Download now on Windows , Mac , iOS , iPad , Android

Ratings:

4.4 Stars out 5

Price:

Starting from $19.99

Let’s assume you have created the Vlog content. Now, we want you to understand the methods of how you can earn income with vlogging.

Part 3: Common Methods of Vlogging Income

We’ve seen so much misinformation about how to make money via vlogging. This makes it hard to figure out what works and what doesn’t. There are so many ways to make money vlogging, and it takes a lot of trial and error to find what works for you. Let’s break down the main ways to make money vlogging into different categories.

YouTube Ads

Ad revenue comes from advertisers who pay to show their brand message across the top of the video. Advertisers choose which ads are displayed, so don’t let a video with few views make you think you can’t make money with your videos. The key is to monetize your content and become eligible for Youtube ads.

According to Google, a publisher (Youtuber) will get 68% of ad revenue. An advertiser’s actual rate varies, but it averages almost $0.18. That means that for every 1000 ad views, a vlogger will receive $18.

Brand Sponsorship

While the vlogger market is still young, brands are starting to recognize its enormous potential for brand recognition, building a community, and engaging with current and potential customers.

Vloggers also use their videos to demonstrate how a product should be used and answer questions about the brand, its products, and services. As well as they will often provide some insight into a product or service through creative storytelling.

Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is another form of monetization for online video bloggers. In affiliate marketing, bloggers earn commissions by referring traffic to affiliate products through affiliate links. The goal of affiliate marketing is to drive sales and build a sustainable source of revenue, whether it’s through Amazon, Google, or other platforms.

Patreon

Patreon is another option, and if done correctly, it can turn a niche blog into a revenue source, which is great for bloggers and vloggers alike. By creating a Patreon account, you are allowing people to donate money to help support your content creation. In return, you offer rewards to supporters of your channel. Rewards could include extra content, merchandise, access to private forums, or even free ebooks.

Sell your service or products

With over 1 billion monthly active users, there’s an opportunity for content creators to make money by selling their products or services. You could sell your physical products to your audience as a vlogger. The best method this can be done is by creating an online store that sells T-shirts and mugs with your branding. Make sure those products must be related to your niche or channel category. As for services, you could also offer tips on improving your life, starting an online business, or even becoming a successful Youtuber!

Part 4: Top 10 Highest-Paid Vloggers on YouTube

Vloggers on YouTube are earning some big money. From the top-earning vloggers to the most-watched channels on YouTube, we’re breaking down the ones raking in the dough.

Here are the top 10 highest paid vloggers on YouTube, according to Forbes:

Name / Channel	Net Worth ($)
1. MrBeast	60 million
2.Jake Paul	30 million
3. Markiplier	35 million
4. Rhett and Link	20 million
5. Unspeakable	30 million
6. Nastya	20 million
7. Ryan Kaji	100 million
8. Dude Perfect	50 million
9. Logan Paul	245 million
10. Preston Arsement	20 million

Hot FAQs on How To Start a Vlog and Make Money

1. Is daily vlogging worth it?

Yes, daily vlogs are the perfect way to establish yourself as an online expert if you think of it as a business. With the right strategy, there is no doubt that starting daily vlogs will be worthwhile for your business.

However, many vloggers have found that it isn’t easy to stick to the routine. You may start losing quality, and as a result, your daily vlogs performance degrades. This can be a frustrating experience for you, so you must consider this before embarking on a daily vlogging project.

2. What is the best topic for vlogging?

There isn’t a specific topic for vlogging. The best topics to cover on any vlog can be the vlogger’s most interesting thing of his life, what he loves doing, what makes him feel like making a difference in the community, or what he wants people to remember about the vlog. It all comes down to a person’s personality, interests, and preferences.

3. What equipment do I need to start vlogging?

With a tripod, the most basic gear to start vlogging is a camera, microphone, and computer. Vloggers typically use cameras that range from DSLRs (digital single lens reflex) to iPhones.

In addition to the gear needed to get started, there is one more item you’ll need to consider to produce quality vlogs. A video editing software that helps you convert your raw footage into eye-catching content, like Wondershare Filmora.

The Bottom Line

So, in summary, if you want to become a vlogger, you will need to figure out how to find your target audience, connect with them, and keep them interested in you. And you can do all of this through social media, advertising, and email marketing. It might be tough at first, but once you get started, you’ll be able to start generating revenue pretty quickly.

Free Download For Win 7 or later(64-bit)

Free Download For macOS 10.14 or later

Breaking Into YouTube’s Top 100 With Effective SEO

The 12-step YouTube SEO Guide for Beginners Who Want More Views

Shanoon Cox

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

The joy of creating on YouTube is often dampened by the disappointment of underperforming videos. You have published your content and it’s not getting the views you had hoped.

Well, let’s change that!

In this guide, I’m going to walk you through YouTube SEO from the very start to the very end.

Nothing complicated. No paid programs or expensive apps needed. We are going back to basics and get your videos discovered.

Ready?

Let’s Go!

Part 1: Research Your Topic and Competitors

Come up with a video idea . Can’t come up with one? Let me help. I heard you can make a mean scrambled egg, why don’t you show the world how you do it?

Excellent! Let’s go with that idea.

Wait, don’t go making the video yet. First, we have to do some research. We need to know what videos already exist out there.

Step 1: Find Related Videos

Do a quick search on YouTube to see what videos already exist on your topic.

Uh oh… your video will be competing against celebrities like Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver.

Okay, don’t panic! There is a fantastic quote, credited to bestselling author, Jon Acuff , that goes:

While researching your competition, you will feel overwhelmed, but remember, you are at the beginning, and Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver are not even at their middle, they are way passed the finish line. You still have a long journey to go, so don’t get discouraged, get inspired!

Watch those videos and understand what they are all about.

Understand that people watch YouTube for 3 key reasons:

- To be entertained

- To learn something new

- To be inspired

A video that can hit all 3 marks is going to be positioned for success. Don’t fret too much about the competition, as long as your content is good, you will see improvement.

So if you think this scrambled egg idea can hit those 3 marks, then I encourage you to go to the next step. If you don’t, let’s regroup and brainstorm some more YouTube video ideas .

Step 2: Find Keywords

Now that we’ve decided that we are sticking with the video idea, we are ready to do some keyword research. Keywords are the words and phrases people type in the YouTube search bar to discover videos.

Come up with as many relevant keywords as you can. Start by entering a keyword into the YouTube search bar. This will tell you what are the most popular searches associated with that keyword:

Once you have an idea of what people are searching for related to your topic, you’ll want to find more relevant keywords. I like to use the free app, Ubersuggest to do that.

This app gives you a whole list of long-tail keywords, which are 3-4-word phrases which is specific to what your video is about.

Some you will use to dig deeper in and other you will deem irrelevant to your videos. A good way of determining the value of a keyword is by the stats the application shows.

How to Read Keyword Suggestions

Once you have a list of keywords, you will see some numbers on the right-hand side. Here is what each one is about:

- Search volume is the number used to identify the popularity of the keyword. The higher the number the more people are searching for it.

- CPC is the value accredited by YouTube, determining how much advertisers are paying to target audiences who search for that keyword and click on the link.

- Competition is the number used to qualify how many other content are using that keyword.

The two categories that matter most to us right now is Search Volume and Competition. We want keywords with high search volume and low competition rate.

In the example above, you can see that the keyword “avocado scrambled eggs” has a Search Volume of 1,000 and a competition rate of 0.0. This is a good keyword to target, if you can incorporate an avocado to your dish… which of course you can!

Step 3: Write Title

I know you might want to deal with the Title, Description, and Tags after you’ve filmed and edited your video. But if you want to apply a YouTube SEO-focused strategy, then these should be addressed before you even pick up a camera as it can greatly dictate the content you end up creating.

A good YouTube title sparks curiosity, evokes emotional reaction, and promises value to your viewers.

Of course you can title your video simply: Making Scrambled Eggs

But does it spark curiosity? Not really… most people can make scrambled eggs.

Does it evoke any emotion? Maybe hunger… but even then, not really…

Finally, does it promise value? Well, assuming that most people can at least crack an egg into a pan, then hardly.

Your scrambled egg is special! Your video is special! We need to evoke that in the title — and as long as you are not writing any clickbait and deliver on what the title suggest, you can do this.

So, how about this: Are My Amazing Scrambled Eggs Better Than Gordon Ramsay’s?

Hmmm… Well, is it? We know that the Gordon Ramsay’s video has almost 30M views. Many people have already tried cooking it, I’m sure. There is only one way to find out, by encouraging others to try it over Gordon’s.

You don’t need to go for a somewhat contentious title like this, but that’s the idea, you want something that gets people curious, make them feel a certain way, and in the end, make them better for having watched your video.

See how a good title can guide the rest of your video?

Step 4: Write Description

You aren’t going to be writing the description for the viewers necessarily, you are going to be writing it for YouTube’s algorithms. The better YouTube understands what your video is about, the better they can show it to people searching for it.

This means you need to include the keywords you were researching at the beginning of your description, as YouTube will be using them to identify the content of your video. 1 or 2 keywords that best represent your video is enough. Don’t stuff the title with too many keywords or you’ll risk sounding like a robot.

But also use the description for practical uses too, if you have additional information such as supportive links, outline of the video’s content, a list of materials, step-by-step guide, or a recipe that you think your human viewers will find useful, you should input that in the description as well.

Step 5: Write Tags

Thank goodness we did the keyword research in Step 2, because coming up with tags is not as easy as it looks.

Pull 15 keywords from the list and keep it somewhere safe.

Note: The keywords you used in the title should be found in your tags, and since they are the most important ones, you should place them first.

Organize your keywords in the tag as such:

Have the specific keywords at the top, followed by more general keywords, and then branded ones:

Specific: How to make scrambled eggs

General: Scrambled eggs

Branded: Gordon Ramsay scrambled eggs

Part 2: Make The Best Darn Video Possible

It doesn’t matter how relevant your keywords are or how epic your title is, if you video sucks (i.e. your viewers click in and leave right away), YouTube will not show it in search.

Even if you haven’t created any videos yet, you can follow these next steps to ensure you are following the best practices to structure your video.

Step 6: Plan and Film the Hook

The first few seconds is where the largest percentage of your earned viewership will drop off. Odds are 20% of your viewers won’t even get past the first 10 seconds .

What you need is a hook, an intro that ensures this video is what they want to watch and let’s them know what they can expect.

Step 7: Film B-Roll

One static camera shot of you talking or cooking or giving a tutorial can cause your viewers to lose attention.

In order to keep your viewers interest, you will need b-roll, or supplemental footage you can cut to give you video more life.

While jump cuts (cuts made on a sequential clip of the same subject or in the same camera position) are fine, having additional footage to cut to will make your video feel more fluid.

So when you are filming your scrambled egg video, make sure you get some footage of you cracking the egg, scrambling it, and serving it on the plate.

Step 8: Encourage Viewers to Engage in Video

Liking, disliking, subscribing, and commenting on your video will all help your performance indirectly.

While YouTube wouldn’t rank your video higher simply because you have more likes subscribers, or comments, engagement from viewers help your video get discovered. If you get a like or comment from a YouTuber with a lot of subscribers, your video may be visible to those who are following that YouTuber for a while.

The best way to get engagement from your audience is to encourage them to like and subscribe or ask them a question or start a dialogue.

For example, in this scrambled egg video you are making, at the end you can ask, “So what do you think, is this better than Gordon Ramsay?”

Who knows, who will respond.

Step 9: Design a Thumbnail

You could have made a brilliant video, but if you have a poor quality thumbnail that is unattractive, then the overall performance of your video will suffer — and good SEO can only do so much after that.

Your viewers will absolutely judge your video by its cover so it’s important to put some thought into it and not solely rely on the three random thumbnail choices that YouTube picks for you.

Take a look at your competition. If they all look the same, do something different. Add text or a human face (preferably yours) to evoke emotion, as viewers are more likely to click into a video if they see an expressive image.

Don’t want to pay money for a photo editing software such as Photoshop?

You can use an online service called Canva or download GIMP , an open-source photo editor much like Photoshop, but far less powerful. These will help you get the job done as you are starting out.

Want to know more thumbnail maker? Check our picks of the best free YouTube thumbnail makers .

Part 3: Publishing With Attention to Optimization

Well done finishing the video! You are almost there… but not there yet.

Come on, keep going!

Step 10: Fill Out Your Videos Assets

The video is done, the thumbnail is designed, and you have all your title, description, and tags ready to go. This step is easy, upload the video, and fill out the assets, and give yourself a pat on the back.

Step 11: Add Transcripts

In addition to making your content accessible for people who don’t want to or can’t listen to the audio in your video, adding subtitles and closed captions will help YouTube understand the spoken content in your video.

While YouTube does have an automatic subtitle generator, it’s not reliable enough to be used for identifying the keywords you use in your video.

You can choose to write out the whole transcript of your video yourself, but if you are press on time, which of course you are, you can simply go and edit the automatic transcript already available in your video. By the way, you can also use some automatic transcription software.

Step 12: Add Video to Playlist

Finally the last thing you need to do for your video is to add it to a playlist. Even though it might be the first video in the playlist, it helps YouTube identify your video if you organize it in a playlist. As you accumulate more content, having videos in playlists makes content easier to find and keeps relevant videos together.

When viewers searches, having your videos in playlists increases the chance of it being discovered.

So if your first video is about scrambled eggs, maybe you next video can be about the awesome butter toasts.

I guess, you are on your way to making a pretty badass breakfast playlist. I personally can’t wait to see it!

If you treat SEO as an afterthought, only after your video is created, you are not using it to its full potential. If you follow these 12 steps during the course of your production, you will find that SEO doesn’t simply help your video perform at the end, but contributes in all the other phases of creating your video as well.

Besides considering YouTube SEO, you should make a good YouTube video as well. Filmora is a powerful video editing software that features lots of templates and effects. Get the free trial version below and have a try today.

Do you have any questions about SEO? Please leave us a comment below.

Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

The joy of creating on YouTube is often dampened by the disappointment of underperforming videos. You have published your content and it’s not getting the views you had hoped.

Well, let’s change that!

In this guide, I’m going to walk you through YouTube SEO from the very start to the very end.

Nothing complicated. No paid programs or expensive apps needed. We are going back to basics and get your videos discovered.

Ready?

Let’s Go!

Part 1: Research Your Topic and Competitors

Come up with a video idea . Can’t come up with one? Let me help. I heard you can make a mean scrambled egg, why don’t you show the world how you do it?

Excellent! Let’s go with that idea.

Wait, don’t go making the video yet. First, we have to do some research. We need to know what videos already exist out there.

Step 1: Find Related Videos

Do a quick search on YouTube to see what videos already exist on your topic.

Uh oh… your video will be competing against celebrities like Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver.

Okay, don’t panic! There is a fantastic quote, credited to bestselling author, Jon Acuff , that goes:

While researching your competition, you will feel overwhelmed, but remember, you are at the beginning, and Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver are not even at their middle, they are way passed the finish line. You still have a long journey to go, so don’t get discouraged, get inspired!

Watch those videos and understand what they are all about.

Understand that people watch YouTube for 3 key reasons:

- To be entertained

- To learn something new

- To be inspired

A video that can hit all 3 marks is going to be positioned for success. Don’t fret too much about the competition, as long as your content is good, you will see improvement.

So if you think this scrambled egg idea can hit those 3 marks, then I encourage you to go to the next step. If you don’t, let’s regroup and brainstorm some more YouTube video ideas .

Step 2: Find Keywords

Now that we’ve decided that we are sticking with the video idea, we are ready to do some keyword research. Keywords are the words and phrases people type in the YouTube search bar to discover videos.

Come up with as many relevant keywords as you can. Start by entering a keyword into the YouTube search bar. This will tell you what are the most popular searches associated with that keyword:

Once you have an idea of what people are searching for related to your topic, you’ll want to find more relevant keywords. I like to use the free app, Ubersuggest to do that.

This app gives you a whole list of long-tail keywords, which are 3-4-word phrases which is specific to what your video is about.

Some you will use to dig deeper in and other you will deem irrelevant to your videos. A good way of determining the value of a keyword is by the stats the application shows.

How to Read Keyword Suggestions

Once you have a list of keywords, you will see some numbers on the right-hand side. Here is what each one is about:

- Search volume is the number used to identify the popularity of the keyword. The higher the number the more people are searching for it.

- CPC is the value accredited by YouTube, determining how much advertisers are paying to target audiences who search for that keyword and click on the link.

- Competition is the number used to qualify how many other content are using that keyword.

The two categories that matter most to us right now is Search Volume and Competition. We want keywords with high search volume and low competition rate.

In the example above, you can see that the keyword “avocado scrambled eggs” has a Search Volume of 1,000 and a competition rate of 0.0. This is a good keyword to target, if you can incorporate an avocado to your dish… which of course you can!

Step 3: Write Title

I know you might want to deal with the Title, Description, and Tags after you’ve filmed and edited your video. But if you want to apply a YouTube SEO-focused strategy, then these should be addressed before you even pick up a camera as it can greatly dictate the content you end up creating.

A good YouTube title sparks curiosity, evokes emotional reaction, and promises value to your viewers.

Of course you can title your video simply: Making Scrambled Eggs

But does it spark curiosity? Not really… most people can make scrambled eggs.

Does it evoke any emotion? Maybe hunger… but even then, not really…

Finally, does it promise value? Well, assuming that most people can at least crack an egg into a pan, then hardly.

Your scrambled egg is special! Your video is special! We need to evoke that in the title — and as long as you are not writing any clickbait and deliver on what the title suggest, you can do this.

So, how about this: Are My Amazing Scrambled Eggs Better Than Gordon Ramsay’s?

Hmmm… Well, is it? We know that the Gordon Ramsay’s video has almost 30M views. Many people have already tried cooking it, I’m sure. There is only one way to find out, by encouraging others to try it over Gordon’s.

You don’t need to go for a somewhat contentious title like this, but that’s the idea, you want something that gets people curious, make them feel a certain way, and in the end, make them better for having watched your video.

See how a good title can guide the rest of your video?

Step 4: Write Description

You aren’t going to be writing the description for the viewers necessarily, you are going to be writing it for YouTube’s algorithms. The better YouTube understands what your video is about, the better they can show it to people searching for it.

This means you need to include the keywords you were researching at the beginning of your description, as YouTube will be using them to identify the content of your video. 1 or 2 keywords that best represent your video is enough. Don’t stuff the title with too many keywords or you’ll risk sounding like a robot.

But also use the description for practical uses too, if you have additional information such as supportive links, outline of the video’s content, a list of materials, step-by-step guide, or a recipe that you think your human viewers will find useful, you should input that in the description as well.

Step 5: Write Tags

Thank goodness we did the keyword research in Step 2, because coming up with tags is not as easy as it looks.

Pull 15 keywords from the list and keep it somewhere safe.

Note: The keywords you used in the title should be found in your tags, and since they are the most important ones, you should place them first.

Organize your keywords in the tag as such:

Have the specific keywords at the top, followed by more general keywords, and then branded ones:

Specific: How to make scrambled eggs

General: Scrambled eggs

Branded: Gordon Ramsay scrambled eggs

Part 2: Make The Best Darn Video Possible

It doesn’t matter how relevant your keywords are or how epic your title is, if you video sucks (i.e. your viewers click in and leave right away), YouTube will not show it in search.

Even if you haven’t created any videos yet, you can follow these next steps to ensure you are following the best practices to structure your video.

Step 6: Plan and Film the Hook

The first few seconds is where the largest percentage of your earned viewership will drop off. Odds are 20% of your viewers won’t even get past the first 10 seconds .

What you need is a hook, an intro that ensures this video is what they want to watch and let’s them know what they can expect.

Step 7: Film B-Roll

One static camera shot of you talking or cooking or giving a tutorial can cause your viewers to lose attention.

In order to keep your viewers interest, you will need b-roll, or supplemental footage you can cut to give you video more life.

While jump cuts (cuts made on a sequential clip of the same subject or in the same camera position) are fine, having additional footage to cut to will make your video feel more fluid.

So when you are filming your scrambled egg video, make sure you get some footage of you cracking the egg, scrambling it, and serving it on the plate.

Step 8: Encourage Viewers to Engage in Video

Liking, disliking, subscribing, and commenting on your video will all help your performance indirectly.

While YouTube wouldn’t rank your video higher simply because you have more likes subscribers, or comments, engagement from viewers help your video get discovered. If you get a like or comment from a YouTuber with a lot of subscribers, your video may be visible to those who are following that YouTuber for a while.

The best way to get engagement from your audience is to encourage them to like and subscribe or ask them a question or start a dialogue.

For example, in this scrambled egg video you are making, at the end you can ask, “So what do you think, is this better than Gordon Ramsay?”

Who knows, who will respond.

Step 9: Design a Thumbnail

You could have made a brilliant video, but if you have a poor quality thumbnail that is unattractive, then the overall performance of your video will suffer — and good SEO can only do so much after that.

Your viewers will absolutely judge your video by its cover so it’s important to put some thought into it and not solely rely on the three random thumbnail choices that YouTube picks for you.

Take a look at your competition. If they all look the same, do something different. Add text or a human face (preferably yours) to evoke emotion, as viewers are more likely to click into a video if they see an expressive image.

Don’t want to pay money for a photo editing software such as Photoshop?

You can use an online service called Canva or download GIMP , an open-source photo editor much like Photoshop, but far less powerful. These will help you get the job done as you are starting out.

Want to know more thumbnail maker? Check our picks of the best free YouTube thumbnail makers .

Part 3: Publishing With Attention to Optimization

Well done finishing the video! You are almost there… but not there yet.

Come on, keep going!

Step 10: Fill Out Your Videos Assets

The video is done, the thumbnail is designed, and you have all your title, description, and tags ready to go. This step is easy, upload the video, and fill out the assets, and give yourself a pat on the back.

Step 11: Add Transcripts

In addition to making your content accessible for people who don’t want to or can’t listen to the audio in your video, adding subtitles and closed captions will help YouTube understand the spoken content in your video.

While YouTube does have an automatic subtitle generator, it’s not reliable enough to be used for identifying the keywords you use in your video.

You can choose to write out the whole transcript of your video yourself, but if you are press on time, which of course you are, you can simply go and edit the automatic transcript already available in your video. By the way, you can also use some automatic transcription software.

Step 12: Add Video to Playlist

Finally the last thing you need to do for your video is to add it to a playlist. Even though it might be the first video in the playlist, it helps YouTube identify your video if you organize it in a playlist. As you accumulate more content, having videos in playlists makes content easier to find and keeps relevant videos together.

When viewers searches, having your videos in playlists increases the chance of it being discovered.

So if your first video is about scrambled eggs, maybe you next video can be about the awesome butter toasts.

I guess, you are on your way to making a pretty badass breakfast playlist. I personally can’t wait to see it!

If you treat SEO as an afterthought, only after your video is created, you are not using it to its full potential. If you follow these 12 steps during the course of your production, you will find that SEO doesn’t simply help your video perform at the end, but contributes in all the other phases of creating your video as well.

Besides considering YouTube SEO, you should make a good YouTube video as well. Filmora is a powerful video editing software that features lots of templates and effects. Get the free trial version below and have a try today.

Do you have any questions about SEO? Please leave us a comment below.

Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

The joy of creating on YouTube is often dampened by the disappointment of underperforming videos. You have published your content and it’s not getting the views you had hoped.

Well, let’s change that!

In this guide, I’m going to walk you through YouTube SEO from the very start to the very end.

Nothing complicated. No paid programs or expensive apps needed. We are going back to basics and get your videos discovered.

Ready?

Let’s Go!

Part 1: Research Your Topic and Competitors

Come up with a video idea . Can’t come up with one? Let me help. I heard you can make a mean scrambled egg, why don’t you show the world how you do it?

Excellent! Let’s go with that idea.

Wait, don’t go making the video yet. First, we have to do some research. We need to know what videos already exist out there.

Step 1: Find Related Videos

Do a quick search on YouTube to see what videos already exist on your topic.

Uh oh… your video will be competing against celebrities like Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver.

Okay, don’t panic! There is a fantastic quote, credited to bestselling author, Jon Acuff , that goes:

While researching your competition, you will feel overwhelmed, but remember, you are at the beginning, and Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver are not even at their middle, they are way passed the finish line. You still have a long journey to go, so don’t get discouraged, get inspired!

Watch those videos and understand what they are all about.

Understand that people watch YouTube for 3 key reasons:

- To be entertained

- To learn something new

- To be inspired

A video that can hit all 3 marks is going to be positioned for success. Don’t fret too much about the competition, as long as your content is good, you will see improvement.

So if you think this scrambled egg idea can hit those 3 marks, then I encourage you to go to the next step. If you don’t, let’s regroup and brainstorm some more YouTube video ideas .

Step 2: Find Keywords

Now that we’ve decided that we are sticking with the video idea, we are ready to do some keyword research. Keywords are the words and phrases people type in the YouTube search bar to discover videos.

Come up with as many relevant keywords as you can. Start by entering a keyword into the YouTube search bar. This will tell you what are the most popular searches associated with that keyword:

Once you have an idea of what people are searching for related to your topic, you’ll want to find more relevant keywords. I like to use the free app, Ubersuggest to do that.

This app gives you a whole list of long-tail keywords, which are 3-4-word phrases which is specific to what your video is about.

Some you will use to dig deeper in and other you will deem irrelevant to your videos. A good way of determining the value of a keyword is by the stats the application shows.

How to Read Keyword Suggestions

Once you have a list of keywords, you will see some numbers on the right-hand side. Here is what each one is about:

- Search volume is the number used to identify the popularity of the keyword. The higher the number the more people are searching for it.

- CPC is the value accredited by YouTube, determining how much advertisers are paying to target audiences who search for that keyword and click on the link.

- Competition is the number used to qualify how many other content are using that keyword.

The two categories that matter most to us right now is Search Volume and Competition. We want keywords with high search volume and low competition rate.

In the example above, you can see that the keyword “avocado scrambled eggs” has a Search Volume of 1,000 and a competition rate of 0.0. This is a good keyword to target, if you can incorporate an avocado to your dish… which of course you can!

Step 3: Write Title

I know you might want to deal with the Title, Description, and Tags after you’ve filmed and edited your video. But if you want to apply a YouTube SEO-focused strategy, then these should be addressed before you even pick up a camera as it can greatly dictate the content you end up creating.

A good YouTube title sparks curiosity, evokes emotional reaction, and promises value to your viewers.

Of course you can title your video simply: Making Scrambled Eggs

But does it spark curiosity? Not really… most people can make scrambled eggs.

Does it evoke any emotion? Maybe hunger… but even then, not really…

Finally, does it promise value? Well, assuming that most people can at least crack an egg into a pan, then hardly.

Your scrambled egg is special! Your video is special! We need to evoke that in the title — and as long as you are not writing any clickbait and deliver on what the title suggest, you can do this.

So, how about this: Are My Amazing Scrambled Eggs Better Than Gordon Ramsay’s?

Hmmm… Well, is it? We know that the Gordon Ramsay’s video has almost 30M views. Many people have already tried cooking it, I’m sure. There is only one way to find out, by encouraging others to try it over Gordon’s.

You don’t need to go for a somewhat contentious title like this, but that’s the idea, you want something that gets people curious, make them feel a certain way, and in the end, make them better for having watched your video.

See how a good title can guide the rest of your video?

Step 4: Write Description

You aren’t going to be writing the description for the viewers necessarily, you are going to be writing it for YouTube’s algorithms. The better YouTube understands what your video is about, the better they can show it to people searching for it.

This means you need to include the keywords you were researching at the beginning of your description, as YouTube will be using them to identify the content of your video. 1 or 2 keywords that best represent your video is enough. Don’t stuff the title with too many keywords or you’ll risk sounding like a robot.

But also use the description for practical uses too, if you have additional information such as supportive links, outline of the video’s content, a list of materials, step-by-step guide, or a recipe that you think your human viewers will find useful, you should input that in the description as well.

Step 5: Write Tags

Thank goodness we did the keyword research in Step 2, because coming up with tags is not as easy as it looks.

Pull 15 keywords from the list and keep it somewhere safe.

Note: The keywords you used in the title should be found in your tags, and since they are the most important ones, you should place them first.

Organize your keywords in the tag as such:

Have the specific keywords at the top, followed by more general keywords, and then branded ones:

Specific: How to make scrambled eggs

General: Scrambled eggs

Branded: Gordon Ramsay scrambled eggs

Part 2: Make The Best Darn Video Possible

It doesn’t matter how relevant your keywords are or how epic your title is, if you video sucks (i.e. your viewers click in and leave right away), YouTube will not show it in search.

Even if you haven’t created any videos yet, you can follow these next steps to ensure you are following the best practices to structure your video.

Step 6: Plan and Film the Hook

The first few seconds is where the largest percentage of your earned viewership will drop off. Odds are 20% of your viewers won’t even get past the first 10 seconds .

What you need is a hook, an intro that ensures this video is what they want to watch and let’s them know what they can expect.

Step 7: Film B-Roll

One static camera shot of you talking or cooking or giving a tutorial can cause your viewers to lose attention.

In order to keep your viewers interest, you will need b-roll, or supplemental footage you can cut to give you video more life.

While jump cuts (cuts made on a sequential clip of the same subject or in the same camera position) are fine, having additional footage to cut to will make your video feel more fluid.

So when you are filming your scrambled egg video, make sure you get some footage of you cracking the egg, scrambling it, and serving it on the plate.

Step 8: Encourage Viewers to Engage in Video

Liking, disliking, subscribing, and commenting on your video will all help your performance indirectly.

While YouTube wouldn’t rank your video higher simply because you have more likes subscribers, or comments, engagement from viewers help your video get discovered. If you get a like or comment from a YouTuber with a lot of subscribers, your video may be visible to those who are following that YouTuber for a while.

The best way to get engagement from your audience is to encourage them to like and subscribe or ask them a question or start a dialogue.

For example, in this scrambled egg video you are making, at the end you can ask, “So what do you think, is this better than Gordon Ramsay?”

Who knows, who will respond.

Step 9: Design a Thumbnail

You could have made a brilliant video, but if you have a poor quality thumbnail that is unattractive, then the overall performance of your video will suffer — and good SEO can only do so much after that.

Your viewers will absolutely judge your video by its cover so it’s important to put some thought into it and not solely rely on the three random thumbnail choices that YouTube picks for you.

Take a look at your competition. If they all look the same, do something different. Add text or a human face (preferably yours) to evoke emotion, as viewers are more likely to click into a video if they see an expressive image.

Don’t want to pay money for a photo editing software such as Photoshop?

You can use an online service called Canva or download GIMP , an open-source photo editor much like Photoshop, but far less powerful. These will help you get the job done as you are starting out.

Want to know more thumbnail maker? Check our picks of the best free YouTube thumbnail makers .

Part 3: Publishing With Attention to Optimization

Well done finishing the video! You are almost there… but not there yet.

Come on, keep going!

Step 10: Fill Out Your Videos Assets

The video is done, the thumbnail is designed, and you have all your title, description, and tags ready to go. This step is easy, upload the video, and fill out the assets, and give yourself a pat on the back.

Step 11: Add Transcripts

In addition to making your content accessible for people who don’t want to or can’t listen to the audio in your video, adding subtitles and closed captions will help YouTube understand the spoken content in your video.

While YouTube does have an automatic subtitle generator, it’s not reliable enough to be used for identifying the keywords you use in your video.

You can choose to write out the whole transcript of your video yourself, but if you are press on time, which of course you are, you can simply go and edit the automatic transcript already available in your video. By the way, you can also use some automatic transcription software.

Step 12: Add Video to Playlist

Finally the last thing you need to do for your video is to add it to a playlist. Even though it might be the first video in the playlist, it helps YouTube identify your video if you organize it in a playlist. As you accumulate more content, having videos in playlists makes content easier to find and keeps relevant videos together.

When viewers searches, having your videos in playlists increases the chance of it being discovered.

So if your first video is about scrambled eggs, maybe you next video can be about the awesome butter toasts.

I guess, you are on your way to making a pretty badass breakfast playlist. I personally can’t wait to see it!

If you treat SEO as an afterthought, only after your video is created, you are not using it to its full potential. If you follow these 12 steps during the course of your production, you will find that SEO doesn’t simply help your video perform at the end, but contributes in all the other phases of creating your video as well.

Besides considering YouTube SEO, you should make a good YouTube video as well. Filmora is a powerful video editing software that features lots of templates and effects. Get the free trial version below and have a try today.

Do you have any questions about SEO? Please leave us a comment below.

Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

The joy of creating on YouTube is often dampened by the disappointment of underperforming videos. You have published your content and it’s not getting the views you had hoped.

Well, let’s change that!

In this guide, I’m going to walk you through YouTube SEO from the very start to the very end.

Nothing complicated. No paid programs or expensive apps needed. We are going back to basics and get your videos discovered.

Ready?

Let’s Go!

Part 1: Research Your Topic and Competitors

Come up with a video idea . Can’t come up with one? Let me help. I heard you can make a mean scrambled egg, why don’t you show the world how you do it?

Excellent! Let’s go with that idea.

Wait, don’t go making the video yet. First, we have to do some research. We need to know what videos already exist out there.

Step 1: Find Related Videos

Do a quick search on YouTube to see what videos already exist on your topic.

Uh oh… your video will be competing against celebrities like Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver.

Okay, don’t panic! There is a fantastic quote, credited to bestselling author, Jon Acuff , that goes:

While researching your competition, you will feel overwhelmed, but remember, you are at the beginning, and Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver are not even at their middle, they are way passed the finish line. You still have a long journey to go, so don’t get discouraged, get inspired!

Watch those videos and understand what they are all about.

Understand that people watch YouTube for 3 key reasons:

- To be entertained

- To learn something new

- To be inspired

A video that can hit all 3 marks is going to be positioned for success. Don’t fret too much about the competition, as long as your content is good, you will see improvement.

So if you think this scrambled egg idea can hit those 3 marks, then I encourage you to go to the next step. If you don’t, let’s regroup and brainstorm some more YouTube video ideas .

Step 2: Find Keywords

Now that we’ve decided that we are sticking with the video idea, we are ready to do some keyword research. Keywords are the words and phrases people type in the YouTube search bar to discover videos.

Come up with as many relevant keywords as you can. Start by entering a keyword into the YouTube search bar. This will tell you what are the most popular searches associated with that keyword:

Once you have an idea of what people are searching for related to your topic, you’ll want to find more relevant keywords. I like to use the free app, Ubersuggest to do that.

This app gives you a whole list of long-tail keywords, which are 3-4-word phrases which is specific to what your video is about.

Some you will use to dig deeper in and other you will deem irrelevant to your videos. A good way of determining the value of a keyword is by the stats the application shows.

How to Read Keyword Suggestions

Once you have a list of keywords, you will see some numbers on the right-hand side. Here is what each one is about:

- Search volume is the number used to identify the popularity of the keyword. The higher the number the more people are searching for it.

- CPC is the value accredited by YouTube, determining how much advertisers are paying to target audiences who search for that keyword and click on the link.

- Competition is the number used to qualify how many other content are using that keyword.

The two categories that matter most to us right now is Search Volume and Competition. We want keywords with high search volume and low competition rate.

In the example above, you can see that the keyword “avocado scrambled eggs” has a Search Volume of 1,000 and a competition rate of 0.0. This is a good keyword to target, if you can incorporate an avocado to your dish… which of course you can!

Step 3: Write Title

I know you might want to deal with the Title, Description, and Tags after you’ve filmed and edited your video. But if you want to apply a YouTube SEO-focused strategy, then these should be addressed before you even pick up a camera as it can greatly dictate the content you end up creating.

A good YouTube title sparks curiosity, evokes emotional reaction, and promises value to your viewers.

Of course you can title your video simply: Making Scrambled Eggs

But does it spark curiosity? Not really… most people can make scrambled eggs.

Does it evoke any emotion? Maybe hunger… but even then, not really…

Finally, does it promise value? Well, assuming that most people can at least crack an egg into a pan, then hardly.

Your scrambled egg is special! Your video is special! We need to evoke that in the title — and as long as you are not writing any clickbait and deliver on what the title suggest, you can do this.

So, how about this: Are My Amazing Scrambled Eggs Better Than Gordon Ramsay’s?

Hmmm… Well, is it? We know that the Gordon Ramsay’s video has almost 30M views. Many people have already tried cooking it, I’m sure. There is only one way to find out, by encouraging others to try it over Gordon’s.

You don’t need to go for a somewhat contentious title like this, but that’s the idea, you want something that gets people curious, make them feel a certain way, and in the end, make them better for having watched your video.

See how a good title can guide the rest of your video?

Step 4: Write Description

You aren’t going to be writing the description for the viewers necessarily, you are going to be writing it for YouTube’s algorithms. The better YouTube understands what your video is about, the better they can show it to people searching for it.

This means you need to include the keywords you were researching at the beginning of your description, as YouTube will be using them to identify the content of your video. 1 or 2 keywords that best represent your video is enough. Don’t stuff the title with too many keywords or you’ll risk sounding like a robot.

But also use the description for practical uses too, if you have additional information such as supportive links, outline of the video’s content, a list of materials, step-by-step guide, or a recipe that you think your human viewers will find useful, you should input that in the description as well.

Step 5: Write Tags

Thank goodness we did the keyword research in Step 2, because coming up with tags is not as easy as it looks.

Pull 15 keywords from the list and keep it somewhere safe.

Note: The keywords you used in the title should be found in your tags, and since they are the most important ones, you should place them first.

Organize your keywords in the tag as such:

Have the specific keywords at the top, followed by more general keywords, and then branded ones:

Specific: How to make scrambled eggs

General: Scrambled eggs

Branded: Gordon Ramsay scrambled eggs

Part 2: Make The Best Darn Video Possible

It doesn’t matter how relevant your keywords are or how epic your title is, if you video sucks (i.e. your viewers click in and leave right away), YouTube will not show it in search.

Even if you haven’t created any videos yet, you can follow these next steps to ensure you are following the best practices to structure your video.

Step 6: Plan and Film the Hook

The first few seconds is where the largest percentage of your earned viewership will drop off. Odds are 20% of your viewers won’t even get past the first 10 seconds .

What you need is a hook, an intro that ensures this video is what they want to watch and let’s them know what they can expect.

Step 7: Film B-Roll

One static camera shot of you talking or cooking or giving a tutorial can cause your viewers to lose attention.

In order to keep your viewers interest, you will need b-roll, or supplemental footage you can cut to give you video more life.

While jump cuts (cuts made on a sequential clip of the same subject or in the same camera position) are fine, having additional footage to cut to will make your video feel more fluid.

So when you are filming your scrambled egg video, make sure you get some footage of you cracking the egg, scrambling it, and serving it on the plate.

Step 8: Encourage Viewers to Engage in Video

Liking, disliking, subscribing, and commenting on your video will all help your performance indirectly.

While YouTube wouldn’t rank your video higher simply because you have more likes subscribers, or comments, engagement from viewers help your video get discovered. If you get a like or comment from a YouTuber with a lot of subscribers, your video may be visible to those who are following that YouTuber for a while.

The best way to get engagement from your audience is to encourage them to like and subscribe or ask them a question or start a dialogue.

For example, in this scrambled egg video you are making, at the end you can ask, “So what do you think, is this better than Gordon Ramsay?”

Who knows, who will respond.

Step 9: Design a Thumbnail

You could have made a brilliant video, but if you have a poor quality thumbnail that is unattractive, then the overall performance of your video will suffer — and good SEO can only do so much after that.

Your viewers will absolutely judge your video by its cover so it’s important to put some thought into it and not solely rely on the three random thumbnail choices that YouTube picks for you.

Take a look at your competition. If they all look the same, do something different. Add text or a human face (preferably yours) to evoke emotion, as viewers are more likely to click into a video if they see an expressive image.

Don’t want to pay money for a photo editing software such as Photoshop?

You can use an online service called Canva or download GIMP , an open-source photo editor much like Photoshop, but far less powerful. These will help you get the job done as you are starting out.

Want to know more thumbnail maker? Check our picks of the best free YouTube thumbnail makers .

Part 3: Publishing With Attention to Optimization

Well done finishing the video! You are almost there… but not there yet.

Come on, keep going!

Step 10: Fill Out Your Videos Assets

The video is done, the thumbnail is designed, and you have all your title, description, and tags ready to go. This step is easy, upload the video, and fill out the assets, and give yourself a pat on the back.

Step 11: Add Transcripts

In addition to making your content accessible for people who don’t want to or can’t listen to the audio in your video, adding subtitles and closed captions will help YouTube understand the spoken content in your video.

While YouTube does have an automatic subtitle generator, it’s not reliable enough to be used for identifying the keywords you use in your video.

You can choose to write out the whole transcript of your video yourself, but if you are press on time, which of course you are, you can simply go and edit the automatic transcript already available in your video. By the way, you can also use some automatic transcription software.

Step 12: Add Video to Playlist

Finally the last thing you need to do for your video is to add it to a playlist. Even though it might be the first video in the playlist, it helps YouTube identify your video if you organize it in a playlist. As you accumulate more content, having videos in playlists makes content easier to find and keeps relevant videos together.

When viewers searches, having your videos in playlists increases the chance of it being discovered.

So if your first video is about scrambled eggs, maybe you next video can be about the awesome butter toasts.

I guess, you are on your way to making a pretty badass breakfast playlist. I personally can’t wait to see it!

If you treat SEO as an afterthought, only after your video is created, you are not using it to its full potential. If you follow these 12 steps during the course of your production, you will find that SEO doesn’t simply help your video perform at the end, but contributes in all the other phases of creating your video as well.

Besides considering YouTube SEO, you should make a good YouTube video as well. Filmora is a powerful video editing software that features lots of templates and effects. Get the free trial version below and have a try today.

Do you have any questions about SEO? Please leave us a comment below.

Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Shanoon Cox

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